Run! Shoot! Kill! Do it again. Do it alone. Do it with friends. Do it online! There’s nothing better that can get a gamer going than a well–designed game with fast hardcore action. Once I began playing, running and fragging I couldn’t quit, and I’m not even a Quakehead. On my PC hard drive you’ll find Unreal Tournament and you’ll find the Tomb Raider games. What else would I need? Quake III Arena on my Dreamcast — that’s what!
So you are probably thinking, "This man is insane, why in the world would he want Quake III Arena on his little girly Dreamcast when he could be fragging with the big boys on his PC?" I’ll tell you why. Quake III Arena on the PC does looks great, and running it at massive resolutions with all the options on is very neat. But when I compare it to Unreal Tournament on the PC, the map design in Quake III Arena just doesn’t hold up. Now put these same Quake III Arena maps on the 31–inch screen TV while I am connected to players from all over the nation playing Capture the Flag, and it’s a whole new ballgame.
Sure you can play Capture the Flag on the PC on the net but it just isn’t as much fun. How can that be possible? One word — cheaters. Playing Quake III Arena on the PC on the net is asking to be spanked by some 15–year–old with nothing better to do than hacking cheats all day so that he can have fun running around to the different servers killing people on his own team, or making it so that he can’t be hurt. I am not saying people will not find ways to cheat on the Dreamcast, but I have yet to run into it, and the online experience is so much better for it. Although once Sega (and this review) cause the floodgates to open, and the Dreamcast players get fed up by the veteran PC boys, things might change — but right now it’s online gaming heaven.
If I seem to be running on it’s because I am writing this just after an online session and the adrenalin is rushing through me. I hate to harp on it, but this game gets you going like no other Dreamcast game I’ve played. The action is fast — death comes faster. I often found myself dying several times per minute and killing just as much! This game is rated M for Mature, 17+ years-old, and for very good reason. My favorite weapon is the rocket launcher and its effects when hitting another player in the face are truly awesome, and gross at the same time. Limbs fly and blood sprays — this is no Mario game, friends, this is the hardest FPS action to be found on any console today.
A quick rundown of the graphic’s engine shows a rocksolid 60–frames–per–minute with no slow down to be found, even with five people on screen at once. While online I had about as much slowdown as I do on my duel channel ISDN line connection on my PC. Great job on the network, Sega! All the best character models are here and they all look great. I love the girls in their bandsuits that float on air. The great, over bass–enhanced sound effects for the PC are here, and just the in–game comments are missing, which in my opinion is a good thing.
The only issue I would have with the game is with the Dreamcast controller. I love the Dreamcast controller and think it’s the best design since the Saturn’s Nights 3D pad. But playing a game as fast as Quake III Arena on the Dreamcast controller is near impossible, especially if you have to go up against a PC player on the great mouse/keyboard combo. If I were you, and am serious about kicking PC-ers’ butts in the future, get yourself a mouse and catch me online. I’ll be the floating girl where the rocket just came from, fragging your butt with my wimpy Dreamcast.
One last thing. If you’re even thinking about buying this game, save yourself the five bucks it costs to rent the game to test. If you like action you should make the plunge and purchase Quake III Arena..
"Quake III Arena gets the Grand Gamer Award!"
